As the states across the United States begin to reopen, President Donald Trump during a White House press conference on Friday officially unveiled the federal government's vaccine effort named 'Operation Warp Speed.'
The vaccine project is a "massive scientific, industrial, and logistical endeavor unliked anything [America] has seen since the Manhattan Project...its objective it to finish developing and then to manufacture and distribute a proven coronavirus vaccine as fast as possible...We think we're going to have some very good results coming out very quickly," Trump stated.
As the U.S. breaks 30 days since the White House issued guidelines for a phased and safe reopening of America, states' reopenings have been up to individual governors' discretion, many with little regard to official health experts' recommendations. According to The New York Times, more than two-thirds of states have relaxed at least some coronavirus related restrictions, with some states not meeting the White House's initial reopening guideline.
"We think we're going to have a vaccine in the pretty near future, and if we do we're going to really be a big step ahead," Trump told reporters at the White House. "And if we don't, we're going to be like so many other cases where you had a problem come in, it'll go away at some point, it'll go away. It may flare up and it may not flare up, we'll have to see what happens, but if it does flare up we're going to put out the fire and we'll put it out quickly and efficiently. We've learned a lot."
"Vaccine or no vaccine, we're back. And we're starting the process. In may cases, they don't have vaccines and a virus or a flu comes and you fight through it,'" Trump added.
Total Global Cases: Over 4.6 Million
Total Deaths: Over 308,000
Total Recovered: Over 1.7 Million
Reopening Aid
UnitedHealth Group
"As we plan for a safe and careful return to the workplace, employers need clear guidelines to ensure a safe environment and a robust process for employees to screen themselves for COVID-19 symptoms," said Ken Ehlert, Chief Scientific Officer at UnitedHealth, in a press release. "We are pleased to collaborate with Microsoft to launch ProtectWell, a simple and effective tool to ensure employers and employees have the information and resources they need to keep themselves, their colleagues and the public safe and healthy."
The app is offered free to employers and aims to instill confidence in both employee and employer that the workplace is a safe place to return to. ProtectWell is not a contact tracing app.
